Hope for a Hero
by The Mad Mystic
Summary: A possibly oneshot, maybe two to three shot. Izuku meets All Might immediately after the fight with All For One, and inherits One for All out of All Might's Desperation.
1. Chapter 1

A strange mixture of fear and rage permeated the air around them, both heavily injured and close to death. Even so, All Might and All for One stared each other down, their injuries barely registering in their minds. Despite their horrid bodily states, both stood tall, taller than any of their peers, in fact. The surrounding area had once been a national park, but the fight so far had devastated the area far too much for it to resemble anything more in tact than the aftermath of Hiroshima. So far, the casualties had only been animals and trees, thanks mostly to their shared desire to keep this fight private, even if they had different reasons.

The battle had taken them from Russia to Japan, the two fighting too fast and too hard for the distance to be surprising for either of them. As far as anyone else was concerned, there had just been a horrible natural disaster that took place in the sea between the two countries. Despite this, they were still ready to go.

No words were shared, but they both knew they were too close to the edge, and so the fight would be settled with the next blow. All For One's arm took on a monstrous appearance, more muscle and meat than any quirk should have produced. All Might reared his arm back, ready to intercept and counter the attack.

When their fists met, both slid past the other's defense. The result was that half of All For One's head disappeared, and that All Might was launched back, far from the national park, and going far too close to the city. He only realized he had stopped moving backwards when he felt the ungodly pain. For all the damage he had sustained in his fight with All For One, impalement was not something he could say he had experienced before.

He looked down, his body still. He could see the large object, likely the remains of an metal I beam, sticking out from where his stomach used to be. Blood flowed freely through his mouth and wound, the beam slowing the blood down, if only barely.

It felt like years before anything changed, he had already accepted his death at that point. All For One was dead, his quest was done. Sure, he would have liked to continue on, but at the very least, he removed the most dangerous threat to the world anyone had ever seen. It was doubtful the world would know of the change, but All For One had been in control of so many criminal organizations they would surely panic, likely splintering further until they resembled little more than street gangs. Still, the world would need some symbol of peace, and as much as Endeavor was second place, he doubted he would have the necessary effect on crime.

But then he heard a cry, one his instincts screamed at him to react to. He looked to the source of the sound, his body still not responding properly.

A small child, likely around nine or ten, was staring at him, tears flowing from his eyes. It took him only a second to realize the boy had screamed for help, not because he was in danger, but because he saw the state All Might was in. "Kid." He croaked. Maybe there was an option. "Kid, come here." He had no need for the boisterous persona of All Might now.

The kid scrambled closer, his green hair bouncing as he climbed over the rubble. "All Might!" He was crying still, but he still moved forward.

"Kid..." All Might paused, hesitating for a moment. Was he really about to risk it all just to keep One for All alive? What of the Symbol of Peace? This kid may have had dreams outside of heroism, outside of spending his life fighting every day. Would it be fair to force it on him?

...But then life was never fair, was it?

"Kid, I know this sounds crazy, but I need you to listen, okay?" Seeing the kid nod desperately, he continued. "My quirk must be passed on. I wont go into the details, but it-" He was interrupted by a squirt of blood coming out of his mouth. "It is a power storing quirk that can be passed on. Take some of my blood, and drink it. A small drop will do. I dont like forcing it on you, but it needs to survive. Even if you decide to not become a hero, just search for someone who will and give it to them." The kid stared at him for a long moment before a hint of fire appeared in his eyes. Good. He would need that will. Before long, the kid had ingested just a bit of blood, his face showing his disgust at the action, but knowing the necessity... or perhaps just doing whatever All Might told him, because All Might.

"Oh, one last thing. You'll need to build up your body before you can use it. Get to above average for an athlete and that should be good. And kid... Make sure you don't tell anyone about the quirk, they might try to take it from you. They wont be able to take it unless you want them to, though. Now go, you need to hide this from everyone." The kid stood still for a second, tears once more flowing at an outrageous level, before he nodded and ran off, likely trying to get help rather than hide like he should have, but All Might figured that was a good sign.

"I'm sorry Nana." He sighed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, embracing the darkness.

"He's over here!" He heard, the sound of an ambulance finally registering in his ears, footfalls not far now. He was not conscious when they finally reached him, even his ungodly endurance having its limits.

It was fortunate they sent Recovery Girl, likely Nezu's doing. For though All Might had died that day, Toshinori Yagi lived.

* * *

Izuku Midoriya had expected a normal trip to Daisetsuzan National Park. His mother had won some program to grant them access to the area, but it was still just like a visit to a zoo. Animals were more wary of humans since the advent of Quirks, but they were also friendlier, even large predators not being aggressive against humans unless attacked first. Fortunately with how often workers at the park interacted with the animals, it meant they were even better about acting friendly with humans. Izuku in particular seemed to have a presence the animals loved, even the Smarter-Than-Average bear.

He was still caught up in talking to himself about how quirks in animals seemed to make them more intelligent, and that someone at the park must have had a quirk to deal with the animals and make them kinder like they were, even when they finally got back to the hotel they were staying in, his mother as happy as him to see all the exotic animals.

Contrary to popular belief, quirks did not just give one effect. Even the quirkless of today could reach unheard of levels of strength, speed, and endurance compared to the past. It was a product of evolution, supposedly, but it meant that animals could survive much wider ranges of climates. Izuku had been writing all this down, when he finally decided to take a break, and to walk around, his mother agreeing.

The two had been walking around, passing by more recently constructed areas, mostly just enjoying the day, when they heard a loud crash, and felt the ground shake like an earthquake. Inko had no idea what Izuku saw, but whatever he did caused him to run full speed at it, her not being fast enough to keep up. She was particularly concerned since he seemed to be heading towards the source of the sound.

It was only about a minute or two when he came back, with her still only being halfway there. She would have gone faster, but between her back problems and her overweight status, she had no chance to keep up with an excitable ten year old. When he was within reach once more, she hugged him tightly, his tears registering in her mind as proof that he saw someone either dead or dying. She quickly took him into her arms and moved away from the scene, the sound of an ambulance going unnoticed.

When they finally reached the hotel, Izuku broke down, telling her what happened as best he could while still crying and hiccuping from the tears. She understood enough, though. Despite the horror of the situation, she felt a bit happy as well. As terrible as it must have been for Izuku to experience, it had given him a chance he never would have had otherwise. True, it seemed like it was at the cost of All Might's life, but that was much more removed from her life than Izuku was. It was only natural that she comforted him, but she knew better than to bring up that he now had a quirk, especially so soon after the fact.

* * *

Katsuki Bakugo was a simple person, unless one dug deep. He wanted to be the best. That was really all anyone needed to know about him, but it meant he always did his best, in everything he did. So while no one else noticed Izuku's distraught state, Katsuki saw it immediately. He was observant enough for that, ten years old or not.

After school, he managed to corner Izuku and finally get him to talk. "Deku! What the hell is going on with you, huh? You finally give up on trying to be a hero without a quirk?" The only response was a tearful glare and silence. "Tch. Talk, you fucking weakling!" Even the sparks from his hands elicited no reaction. "Deku... You might as well give up whatever this is! You think I haven't noticed you going to the gym?! Even if you get strong, you'll always be useless!"

That did it. Izuku's tears vanished and a glare fill with determination replaced them. Despite himself, Katsuki grinned, feeling excited for some reason. Izuku spoke. "Kacchan..." The determination vanished, and with it, Katsuki's grin. "I need your help."

There was something in his voice, and the way he said it that made him stop, his explosions stopping immediately. "What..."

Then Izuku began to ramble, crying a bit, as he explained what happened while he was on that trip. The pieces were easy to put together after that. All Might had not died, the news reported, but his days of being a hero were done. Crime rose sharply, before plateauing when Endeavor showed just why he was worth being number 2.

At the end of Izuku's story, Katsuki did not know what to think. Then Izuku decided to speak again, sounding broken now. "I want you to take it."

"Fuck you!" Katsuki did not even think before he spoke, his rage at such a request overpowering his reasoning. "You get the chance to be a hero and you just give it up like that?! You wanted help? Fine! I'll put you through hell till you can use that quirk as easy as breathing."

Izuku stared at him in wonder. Katsuki immediately backpedaled. "Don't get the wrong idea. No one in the school has a quirk worth shit, so I need a real fight. If you've got All Might's quirk, even a useless Deku like you should be better than fucking long-fingers or stretch-eyes." While it was true, Katsuki could not help but feel another motivation. Perhaps it was jealousy, since such a blessing would have been great for him, or perhaps some lingering care for Izuku manifested now that Deku was no longer quirkless? Bah, he did not care for introspection.

* * *

Two years down the road, and the two had never been closer. Izuku's training had put him in the hospital twice so far, one arm broken each time, but recently he had gotten the hang of using the quirk at a level that did not hurt him. Still, he was limited to what he assumed was five percent. It was, however, more than enough to make the spars between him and Katsuki interesting.

They used Dagobah beach to fight unnoticed. Part of his personal training had been to make a sort of arena out of the trash so that they would not be seen when they fought. Quirk usage in public was still problematic, after all. The two had also taken up martial arts, which they often argued about which was better. Izuku, having damaged his arms, even if not permanently, decided to focus on kicking, and thus took up Tae Kwon Do, while Katsuki focused on grapples, since his quirk required open palms, and thus took up Judo. They had yet to come to agreement on which was better, naturally.

"Come on then!" Izuku shouted from one side of the makeshift arena. Katsuki responded by rocketing towards him, the garbage around them trembling from the force of his explosions. He leaned his right shoulder forward and angled himself to should-tackle his opponent.

Izuku was forced to dodge, not quite being able to counter that level of attack yet. Katsuki seemed ready for that, though, using his explosions to spin around and deliver a devastating blow to Izuku's chest. However, Izuku managed to duck under it, and kick Katsuki's legs out from under him in the same motion. While Katsuki fell, Izuku lifted his knee to catch Katsuki in the ribs. At the same time however, Katsuki pulled off an explosion right at Izuku's chest, the same area he had hit earlier.

The result of the quick-clash was Izuku being slammed into the ground, and Katsuki being launched slightly into the air before coming down with a thump. Both of them caught their breath, this being their third fight today. "Another draw." Izuku chuckled.

"Damn Deku" Was the only thing Katsuki manged to pant out, the air from his lung being forced out by that last hit.

"Here I was, visiting the beach, and yet not only do I see a surprising amount of trash, I see two boys blatantly abusing said trash to circumvent quirk laws." A chuckle followed the voice, both Izuku and Katsuki looking towards the voice. Their eyes caught a yellow haired man that both of them recognized.

"All Might!" They both spoke at the same time.

"Two years later, and people still call me that." Toshinori chuckled. "My name is Toshinori Yagi, I am no longer All Might... That was an impressive display, all three of them." The two sat up quickly, but did not stand. They were too sore for that right now. "You two are hoping to get into U.A. arent you?"

The two nodded, but Katsuki stared at Izuku pointedly. Izuku shakily stood up, before he spoke. "It's me, the kid from-"

"I know." It was a soft statement, but the smile on Toshinori's face soothed their worries. "Train hard. That looks like about fight percent, so you have quite a ways to go. Don't let anyone know, but I'll be teaching at U.A. from now on." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go. Too bad about all this trash, this would be a nice place to visit."

Two months later, the entire beach was cleared of all trash. If Toshinori noticed in his frequent visits, he did not mention it.

* * *

Time flew by once more, until finally the Entrance Exam was here. The two boys had trained even harder, with Izuku reaching 15%, and Katsuki matching him. Their friendly rivalry had grown both fiercer and friendlier, so it was rare to see them not together, or insulting each other. While this meant Katsuki had cooled off from his more explosive tendencies, it also meant Izuku started to mimic Katsuki's choice of words, making cussing a humorous side effect of their friendship.

Iida Tenya was a proud person. He had good grades, great athleticism, and was a generally likable person. His main flaws were obvious, being a stickler for the rules, and a bit uncreative. It had yet to be a problem, thus he was had not acknowledged his faults to enough of an extent to change himself. He had high expectations for both himself, and everyone around him.

Perhaps that was why he underestimated the two boys who seemed to not care about Present Mic's speech. It was certainly why he called them out for it. "And you two!" They turned to him, the green haired one at least appearing sheepish. "Please stop your arguing. Such behavior is uncalled for, are you even actually trying to pass, or just be distractions?" He felt it was a bit harsh, but necessary. It would not surprise him if U.A. would place purposeful distractions in the exam to weed out the less prepared, but that did not mean he would not act as if they truly were just fellow examinees trying to be distractions.

He could see both of them flush red, one from anger and one from embarrassment. Perhaps he had been too harsh...

That thought was interrupted by Katsuki shouting. "Go fuck yourself you stuck up bastard!" Izuku immediately pulled him back down and mumbled something to him, turning the shouting rage into a seething one. Well, at least they were quiet now.

It was not until the beginning of the practical exam that he took notice of the green haired boy again. Not because he was mumbling again (he was), but because the second the gates opened, he shot out as fast as Iida's third gear, except with no build up. It was both terrifying and inspiring. He was second out of the gate, but there were a good few seconds in between them.

In that time, judging from the shatter remains of robots, the green haired boy had been busy. Nevertheless, he needed to focus on his own score, not that of his potential future classmates. With that in mind, he rushed forward, crushing every robot he could, and even helping a few other people out when they seemed in trouble. Taking the exam was easily done, even if passing it was not. Thus, many unqualified people had joined the exam, making them all the more likely to need rescuing.

It had been about ten minutes since he started when he felt the ground shake. When he saw the monstrous Zero Pointer, his first reaction was to run, even if he paused to stare at it for far longer than necessary. He had thought the exam was safe, but this... if this was the entrance exam, how hard would the courses be?

He barely caught the green blur that rushed past him, seeming to bounce in the air towards the machine's face. He recognized it immediately though. that green hair was memorable. Everyone had stopped running, and the world seemed silent for a moment before the machine's entire head caved in, almost as if struck by a meteor. Almost everyone stared, but Iida's eyes caught the location the green haired boy landed, stopping a few feet from the ground. He realized what happened immediately, but did not know how to react.

How was one to react to seeing a true hero?

* * *

"Eighty seven." Katsuki said, meeting up with Izuku on the way to U.A.

"Same... Forty rescue, forty seven villain points." Izuku sighed.

"Eh? What happened, did you freeze up?" Katsuki stared at him, a mocking grin on his face.

"Uh..." Remembering how he froze up because that cute girl talked to him, Izuku just nodded. He was not going to admit that to Katsuki though.

"Well, whatever. Let's see who else passed. I saw some fuckface with an electricity quirk, he seemed decent enough." Katsuki shrugged. "Couldn't handle the Zero Pointer though, fucking weakling."

Izuku rolled his eyes. Not everyone was like the two monsters the boys had become. "Did you take yours out?"

"Blew it the fuck up." Was the curt response.

"Same."

...

"Are we cursed?" Katsuki suddenly spoke after a long bout of silence.

"What?" Izuku stared at him, bewildered.

"We always fucking tie. I'm almost tempted to say I would rather lose than tie at this point. Like, fuck, even our fights for the past few years. Our grades too. What the fuck..." Katsuki mumbled to himself, another habit caused from their friendship.

"We aren't always equal, just a lot of the time. And its only because you refuse to lose, Baka-go." Izuku mocked him.

"What was that, Mama's boy?"

"Oh like you aren't."

"...Fair."

* * *

Ochako Uraraka had expected a lot from U.A. Compared to other quirk, hers was not exactly overpowered, at least in her own eyes. It was good for construction, and thus, saving people, but otherwise it was kind of useless for combat. Well, unless she wanted to throw someone into space, but that would be a villain's method of doing things.

Naturally, she expected her classmates to be absolute monsters who were totally dedicated to being heroes. She expected to have to claw her way up the power ranking of the class, and for each person to view the school as a competition of sorts.

She certainly did not expect the sheer friendliness and excitable nature that so many of her classmates showed from the moment she met them. She also did not expect to be put into the same class as the guy who saved her life, by destroying a machine bigger than a skyscraper. The power disparity was obvious, not to mention his attitude basically embodied the concept of hero, even if he seemed really nervous about it, judging from how he froze up when she initially thanked him for help her with a few three pointers.

Upon seeing him again, arguing with someone who looked more like a shounen protagonist than any living person had reason to, she smiled and waved at him. "Hey, its you! Thanks again for saving me. We never introduced ourselves, I'm Ochako Uraraka."

He froze up, eyes darting to the boy he was talking to, before he turned back to her, smiled, and responded. "Of course, we are here to be heroes, and even heroes need help sometimes. My name is Izuku Midoriya." Wow, even now he was nervous. Well, maybe he just was not used to meeting new people.

She was going to respond, before she was interrupted by the very same boy Izuku had been talking with. "So _that's_ why you froze up, eh Deku?" She turned to him, only to see a shit-eating grin on his face.

Izuku flushed, turning back to him and responding. "Don't start, Bakubitch."

"Entertaining as this is" A voice cut in from behind her. It seemed everyone was going to interrupt someone else tod- "Class is beginning. Take your seats." She turned to see... a caterpillar?! No, just a guy in a really puffy sleeping bag. Honestly, the caterpillar would have been less weird. "It took you five seconds to quiet down. Irrational." He sighed, holding up a bag. "I know its sudden, but put these on and meet me in the field." He pointed his thumb towards the glass-wall in the hallway.

* * *

Aizawa was pretty sure he was cursed with bad luck. Not that he would admit it, but seeing the sheer power of some of these kids' quirks was... humbling. Shoto, in a display of power, had used his ice to propel himself forward almost faster than Aizawa could track. Momo, deciding to trump that, made a cannon to launch the softball well over a kilometer. If the range of the sensor had gone farther, it probably would have been more. Still, how the hell did she defy the conservation of mass to make a cannon?! She would need to weigh thousands of pounds for that to work.

Everyone had a good showing, actually, even the grape-kid. Even if they all would need to grow up before they could become true heroes, none of them had zero potential. That did not mean they would not be headaches to deal with. Particularly the two who made every test into a contest. So much of the field had been destroyed, and all the equipment... Nezu was not going to be happy.

They were creative at least, with Katsuki using his explosions on the small scale to increase his grip strength, and Izuku using his quirk to force himself to stretch further than he should have. Still, they were the obvious powerhouses of the class, adding in Shoto. Momo, if nothing else, had versatility down.

The difference was in how they moved. As trained as Momo and Shoto were, they seemed to lack experience, moving in much more strict ways, while Izuku and Katsuki moved fluidly. The key difference was made obvious by that, Shoto and Momo had structured training, while Izuku and Katsuki likely fought each other constantly, if he were to judge from their rivalry.

"These kids get more amazing every year." Toshinori spoke out from behind him, the class having already left.

"You were watching?" Aizawa cocked and eyebrow at the former number one.

"Always." Toshinori chuckled, leaning on his cane. His body was still more fit than anyone without a stomach had a right to be, but the cane helped take the pressure off his stomach.

"You always were interested in seeing the next generation grow, but you seem particularly interested this time. Is it those two? Bakugo and Midoriya?" Aizawa had quite a bit of respect for the former hero, seeing both his record and his dedication to teaching, even if he had used those "Teaching For Dummies" books a while back.

"They will make mighty fine heroes, I think." It was not an answer, yet somehow that was answer enough. The two parted, but they shared similar thoughts about the future, for once. Hope.

* * *

 **BOLD LINE FOR AN OBVIOUS DIVIDER BETWEEN STORY AND INFORMATION**

So, I had the idea in my mind for a while because I had not seen it done. What if Izuku encountered All Might immediately after All For One, and got One for All in a moment of desperation? Then of course, I wanted a friendly rivalry with Katsuki and Izuku. I used my friendship with someone as a basis for that one, thus the insults. Plus I felt Izuku would grow to do them naturally as he hung out with Katsuki. He is still just as kind and adorable as his canon counterpart, just not at all a pushover, and much more willing to cuss. Because "Fear of a word just increases fear of the thing itself."

This will either stay a oneshot, or become a two to three shot. It probably would have turned out a lot better had I taken longer than three hours to do it.


	2. Chapter 2

Retiring had never been the plan. Even after having passed on his quirk, Toshinori still had fight in him. The only problem was that his injuries had reached the point where his body shriveled up to a far less mighty form. In his own opinion, he looked more like a meth-head than a hero. Even when he was younger, he had been tall and muscular, so the shock of a new form was... extreme to say the least.

Night Eye had taken the news rather well, more relieved to find his mentor alive than he was worried about some quirk. It may have helped that he still had that naive, blind faith in Toshinori. The two became friends in a more direct sense, rather than just partners. They had always been close, but their line of work required a certain distance even among colleagues.

Gran Torino, on the other hand, seemed content to leave it at that. Their parting had not been violent, or loud, it just seemed to have happened. A slow decrease of their conversations led to silence between them. Not a chaotic one, but a hesitant one. Toshinori feared Gran Torino was disappointed, while Gran Torino did not think Toshinori looked at him as anything other than a mentor. It was a quiet loss, but one they surely felt. It was a natural disconnect.

It was why he sought to rekindle their relationship after all these years, wanting his obvious successor to be trained by Gran Torino as well. At least, that was what he told himself. In truth, Toshinori was a lonely man. Despite the fame being All Might brought, not many knew Toshinori. Even Night Eye had not truly known him until after he lost his quirk. He did not mind at the time, if only because he was more All Might than Toshinori. Now, however, he only really interacted his fellow teachers at U.A. and his students.

The house had not changed, the location and feeling it brought from him. Gran Torino was just as much a hardass as he remembered, he'd bet. "Uh, Hello?" He called, the door creaking open.

"Toshinori? What are you doing here?" Gran Torino stared at his old student from the couch, surprised at the sudden visit. "Come on in" There was no mention of the door being open. No one was stupid enough to rob Gran Torino. Those who were, were not smart enough to survive Gran Torino.

"I wanted to ask a favor, actually." He lied to himself. "I'm teaching at U.A. now"

"You? A teacher? You have changed." Gran Torino smirked, recalling the constant beatdowns he had to preform to set Toshinori's mind right.

"Yeah... But I can't really keep up with these kids anymore." He gestured towards his emaciated appearance, catching an understanding glint in his teacher's eye.

"I suppose I can help, but this came out of nowhere... Ah. I see. You found your successor, didn't you?" Gran Torino pointed at him. "And you want me to clean up your mess."

"I... have no regrets giving that kid One for All, having met him. But he still needs to learn more. I couldn't think of anyone else with as much experience with One for All." Toshinori gave a helpless shrug. "Besides, it's true. All Might is dead, and Toshinori just can't keep up with these kids."

Gran Torino had a lot to say about that, but refrained. It was a lesson Toshinori would have to learn himself. "Well, if it's you whose asking, I suppose. Even if it means dealing with snot-nosed brats, at least it'll pass the time." Sad truth was, Gran Torino had even less human interaction than Toshinori, and rather liked kids... Or at least, he liked giving them really painful lessons that would help them later in life.

* * *

Gran Torino, along with Toshinori, stood in front of Class 1-A, near the combat-training center. Granted, the combat-training center was just a building designed to be confusing yet sparse. It was entirely designed to mimic the feeling of a labyrinthine villain lair. "So, now that you've got your hero costumes, if you can call them that, let's go over what we are doing!"

Toshinori continued for Gran Torino. "Each team will have two people, each team facing one other as villains and heroes. The villains' goal will be to capture the heroes, or keep them busy for ten minutes. The heroes' goal will be to capture the villains, or grab the atomic bomb. Naturally, a fake. No life-threatening injuries, but do not worry too much about holding back. We will stop it if it goes too far."

After a bit of clarification, the first match was ready, though the contenders were... far from happy.

"Me and Deku are facing No-face and Shrimp?" Bakugo complained. "Thats not even a fight."

Izuku, though he remained silent because _All Might,_ had to agree.

"Yeah, I don't want to die a virgin!" Apparently Mineta agreed as well.

Gran Torino snorted. "That is exactly the point. As much as you two are obscenely powerful, you probably only fought each other. You might be able to take each other's blows, but what will you do when one punch is too much for a villain? Meanwhile, it means these two will be facing a superior force and have to think tactically. It all depends on who learns faster."

Toshinori waved his arms. "The point of this test was for them to figure that out!"

"Why? If they can't even figure that much out, they shouldn't have tried joining the Hero course in the first place." Gran Torino spoke, harsh, but fair, as they both knew.

* * *

Despite neither Katsuki, nor Izuku using their quirks, the round lasted only five minutes, four of which was just finding the invisible girl. For whatever reason, Mineta had already been beaten before either of them touched him...

* * *

Despite the lacklustre nature of the first match, the rest seemed both intense and interesting. If nothing else, it gave both Katsuki and Izuku new rivals, though in vastly different areas and for vastly different reasons. Katsuki saw Shouto as a rival in raw power, while Izuku saw Momo as a rival in intelligence, something that was proven by her quick diagnosis of the first match.

As a bonus for Izuku, many of the other students displayed both their quirks, and their creativity. He was particularly interested in Ochako's quirk, much to Katsuki's continued smirking.

Gran Torino had little comments each fight, which proved more and more insightful the more one listened, but other than that nothing of note happened, leaving a strange sort of tension in the air, despite the exciting nature of the day.

* * *

It was only a few days later they realized it had been the calm before a storm.

The day started normally enough, although an unexpected election of class representatives had shaken them up the previous day, Momo and Kirishima seemed good enough that it was nothing too great. There was the press breaking in, but it was a footnote to the students. The real shock had been the sudden field trip the next day, to the USJ, which was almost certainly a copyright violation.

The first look inside had been exciting, and perhaps awe-inspiring. U.A. had one hell of a budget.

The next few seconds, everything went to hell. Hundreds of villains poured out of some black mist, so many different and violent quirks even Izuku had a hard time keeping track. They all heard the sudden pops that signaled Katsuki preparing explosions, and almost half the class became ready for a fight. They barely had a chance to protest when Aizawa jumped into the fray, taking on multitudes of villains at once, with a skill that left even Katsuki speechless.

Everything after that turned into a blur, the source of the mist appearing, Thirteen being wounded, and everyone being split up, with only a few remaining in the area.

Izuku dealt with the villains in the fire area easily enough, while Todoroki just froze the flood district, and Katsuki made the ruined-city district more authentic. The others, they would only hear about later.

By the time they reached the center again, at least to a point where they could see it, Aizawa was beaten to a horrifying extent, his arm broken and blood flowing freely from his wounds. The black-bird monstrosity holding him up was the obvious source of the wounds. Still, it was only when Shigaraki moved at Tsuyu that Izuku reacted.

Neither Izuku, nor Katsuki had imagined something could not only tank a full power hit from him, but absorb so much shock that it negated any harmful effects it had on Izuku. Still, it was useful information.

"Go on, kill him Nomu." Shigaraki urged, a gleeful cackle in his throat.

The beast managed to grab Izuku's arm, before Katsuki intervened, an explosion causing the creature to stumble slightly. "Hah! My quirk IS stronger!" Katsuki laughed, preparing to fire another, right at the creature's elbow.

Izuku, seeing his chance, pulled with all his might at the same time Katsuki let off his next explosion. The force, combined with the sudden shifting mass (which was required for shock absorption), ripped the creature's arm off right at the elbow. "No, you hit the ground too. Plus it might have damaged its ears." He only changed that idea when he saw the limb growing back. "Or mildly irritated it." They both jumped back, the creature on them just as fast.

It was only mildly hindered by a wave of ice thicker than its entire body. The two turned, Izuku smiling, and Katsuki frowning, to the newly arrived Shouto. "Keep your eyes on him, that won't hold him for long."

"Gives us time for a plan." Katsuki grumbled, not liking having to work with Todoroki.

"If I can get close enough to rip it apart, then all I need is for you to cauterize it. Think you can turn up the heat and lessen the force of your explosions Kacchan?" Izuku questioned, ever the strategist of the group.

"Yeah, just keep him off me. I don't have your ability to get out of that thing's grip." Katsuki nodded. He had a fair point, given Izuku's body was enhanced whenever he used his quirk, while Katsuki's was not. Any attempt to rip off the arm of the beast would just create a match of durability between the beast's arm and his own, not something he wanted to happen.

"Todoroki, can you keep it off him? I'm going to be pressed just to keep it off me." Izuku asked.

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, the beast broke through the ice, and was upon Izuku. In the back of his mind, he noticed Gran Torino battling Shigaraki and Kurogiri, but dismissed it for now.

The thing lunged at Izuku, either not learning it's lesson, or not having the capacity to. Given the exposed brain, either could be the case. Still, Izuku dodged, since Katsuki was too far away. He rolled in the direction Katsuki was, having to narrowly dodge the beast's fists the moment he righted himself. Grabbing the beast's arm and twisting his waist, Izuku jumped up, applying a kick to the beast's chest, while pulling at the arm, once more ripping it off.

Katsuki immediately set upon the beast's injury, his terrifyingly hot explosions instantly cauterizing the limb as well as applying some decent burns to its chest, though they were gone in an instant.

With Shigaraki not around to give it any further orders, it only had eyes for Izuku, who was saved once more by a rush of ice, this time only catching the feet of the beast. Izuku too his chance and grabbed the other arm, once more pulling it. Katsuki once more cauterized it, and they felt a sense of relief. After all, it should stop attacking now that it had no arms, right?

The beast broke the ice, slamming its entire body into Izuku, who went flying straight into a cliff in the landslide zone. The beast made to follow, but was once more stopped by ice. Suddenly the beast seemed to explode with electricity, a violent hiss and the smell of burning flesh mixed with ozone filling the air.

"Sorry guys, if I had known it was something like this, I'd have come sooner!" Kaminari grinned, still holding onto the beast, who seemed unresponsive.

"Electricity was a good counter." Shouto acknowledged. Even if it regenerated, electricity still messed with the nerves and muscles enough to leave the creature unresponsive, unless it actually was weak against nerve damage. Though, if that were the case, the exposed brain made even less sense.

Katsuki, meanwhile, had already left to find Izuku and laugh at him for taking that hit (He would not admit to being worried).

"What?! Shigaraki bellowed, taking his eyes off of Gran Torino for a second, who took the time to breathe for the sake of his quirk. "Damn overleveled brats. What kind of cheat lets a mob unit take on a boss?!"

Gran Torino, his breath having caught back up to him, rushed Shigaraki again, knocking him off his feet but doing relatively little actual damage. It seemed as though Shigaraki had superhuman durability, as well as speed. Nothing he had not faced before, but he was no longer in his prime, able to take on Toshinori.

"Enough!" Shigaraki called out, immediately being enveloped in a black mist. "At least I know who it is now... One For All!" An insane cackled followed his departure, before leaving an icy silence.

The main injuries from the event were Aizawa's broken arm, broken ribs, sprained ankle, and damaged eye. Gran Torino only had pulled a muscle in his chest from his quirk's requirement, but was otherwise fine, something he was less than proud of, given Aizawa's state. Thirteen was damaged, but no one knew quite how much except those who operated on him. It was hard to tell the health of a living black hole. The only student injury was Izuku Midoriya, who had five broken ribs, and an almost-severed arm, likely caused from the beak of the beast impacting him.

The injuries were only the beginning, though. The PR backlash was enormous, even if it was overpowered by sympathy for the heroes. However, the person who took the news the absolute worst was one Toshinori Yagi, a new fire lit inside of him, born of fear and worry.

* * *

Yeah, gonna be a three-parter.

Also, Bakudeku is a horrifying concept to support because theirs is the most toxic and abusive relationship in the series, including All For One and Shigaraki.


End file.
